Cotton-picker&#39;s spring spine-supporter.



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SAMUEL O. POTTS, OF APPLE VALLEY, GEORGIA.

COTTON-PICKERS SPRING SPINE-SUPPORTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 637,156, dated November 14, 1899. I

Application filed September 12, 1898. Serial No. 690,812. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, SAMUEL G. POTTS, residing at Apple Valley, in the county of Jackson and State of Georgia, have made certain new and useful Improvements in Spine-Supports for Cotton-Pickers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention has for its object a device which will relieve the back of a cotton-picker from the strain incidental to a stooping position; and the invention consists in certain details of construction and arrangement of the parts of myimproved spine-support,which I shall first describe and then point out in the appended claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a viewillustrating my improved spine-support attached to a person. Fig. 2 is a face view of the support detached; and Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line 3 3, Fig. 2.

My improved spine-support for cotton-pickers consists of a main bar A, of spring-steel, on which a cross-bar B is fitted to slide freely, preferably by the attachment thereto of a coupling 0, as shown. The said cross-bar B is adapted for use as the shoulder-bar, and for this purpose is provided at each hooked end with a ring D, through which a strap E is loosely inserted,the said straps being fastened around the shoulders of the cotton-picker, as shown in Fig. 1. At a suitable point on the main bar A, near its lower end, a second crossbar F is fixedly secured by rivets or the like, and such bar F is likewise provided with rings G; but in this instance the strap H is tween the knees and hips of the person when the hip-strap H is in place, is secured a ring I, through which two straps J and K are loosely inserted and are designed for attachment around the left and right thighs, respec tively. Now it will be seen that when the spine-support is attached as shown in Fig. 1 a stooping position will flex the main bar A, the strain being transferred from the muscles of the back to the shoulders and thighs, while the cross-bar B is so mounted on the bar A that the former will move up and down to al low for the curvature of the latter.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. An improved spine-support for cottonpickers, comprising a main bar of spring nia= terial, means for attaching said main bar to the shoulders of a person, a cross-bar fixedly secured to said main bar near its lower end and arranged for attachment to the hips of a person, the said main bar extending below such hip-bar and provided at its lower ex tremity with straps for attachment to the thighs of the person as and for the purpose set forth.

2. An improved spine-support for cottonpickers, comprising a main bar of spring ma terial, a cross-bar slidably fitted on the said main bar and having rings at its ends, shoulder-straps loosely inserted through said rings, a second cross-bar fixedly secured to said main bar near the lower end of the latter and having rings at its ends and a strap, the sections whereof are fastened in said rings and are adapted for attachment to the hips of the person, a ring secured to the lower extremity of said main bar, and two straps loosely inserted through said ring,ea ch of which is arranged to be fastened around a thigh of the person, as and for the purpose set forth.

' SAMUEL O. POTTS.

Witnesses:

G. W. GARNER, J. M. H001). 

